


As You Wish

by knavessofhearts



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 08:56:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10567929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knavessofhearts/pseuds/knavessofhearts
Summary: A librarian gets more than she bargained for, when she accidentally becomes the master of a genie.





	

Belle didn’t quite know what to make of her current situation, or the facts that led up to them, but there was no denying that a genie was now standing in her living room. 

Her day had started off quite normally. Aside from Granny being cheerier than usual, and a slightly burnt cappuccino, her day had been quite mundane. Belle went through the same motions that she had done for the last month. Wake up, have breakfast, work at the library, go home, sleep.

Her day went off into a tangent when Sister Astrid dropped off a box of books that had been left at the nunnery. Astrid wasn’t sure where they had come from, but they seemed to be in relatively good condition, if a little worn-in. Belle was in desperate need of more diverse books, Storybrooke’s most vivacious novel was “Spearfishing for Beginners”. Nothing made Belle more ecstatic than a collection of new books….or old ones. Old books showed that they had been loved, read, shared and touched someone. 

Belle began unloading each of the dusty volumes from the box and organising them by genre. She enthusiastically piled every book with an adventurous title beside her, as these were the ones she would read before any others. Belle was rather satisfied with the variety of stories this mystery box had dealt her, and was giddy at the thought of the school kids who visited on Thursday afternoons being able to have something new to read other than Harry Potter.

One book was left at the bottom of the box, and as Belle reached in to gingerly pull it out into the light, she was certain this book had not seen a curious reader for many years, if at all. It was pristine. A book that had just this second been sowed together, its pages unbent, its ink still wet. The cover was a startling and blinding gold, catching any light from the morning sun. Belle turned the book over in her hands with a creased forehead, wondering what on earth this untouched novel had been hidden amongst a bunch of second-hand books.

There was no title blazoned on the front, no description on the back, only intricate patterns embedded into its golden edges. And like Belle had done countless of times, to hundreds if not thousands of books, she opened it to the first page. All Belle saw, before a plume of red smoke exploded from the pages, was a hand-written inscription on the first page. She was only just able to make out to the two simple words before she dropped the book and screamed. For You.

Soon enough, the startling smoke swirled into the centre of the room, leaving Belle with infinite questions and obscenities swirling around in her head, and a man was formed out of the smoke.

That man was now pacing along Belle’s living room rug, twirling a ring on his finger as Belle clutched the golden book to her chest and tried to stop her head from spinning. Trying to figure out at what point her life that genies had become real. Genies weren’t real, genies were….blue and in a cartoon movie with a monkey wearing a vest. He certainly did not look like any genie Belle would have thought, he looked like a monster. He had curly matted hair, scaly skin and large, frightening eyes. He spoke in an impish, elf-like tone and sent Belle’s hair raising everytime he let out a random, high-pitched giggle for no reason. Not your typical genie. 

Belle enjoyed reading fantastic tales about genies, even thought about what she would wish for if they were real. But they were nothing more than day-dreams, a series of what-ifs and maybes. Belle enjoyed a good genies story as much as the next person. She did not enjoy the fact that this genie, a real-life genie, kept pacing and sighing at her in frustration.

“Look, are you going to make your wishes or not?” He let out in a harsh-tone, and Belle snapped out her haze.

“Forgive me for taking a moment to come to terms with the fact a man just jumped out of my book,” Belle retorted back.

“Where you expecting a lamp?” The Genie snarled through his teeth, until he finally ceased pacing and looked out the window.

“This is certainly a very different village than my last master’s…what did you say it was called again?”

“Storybrooke”, Belle replied automatically, the Genie only scoffed.

“How quaint…”

Belle sighed in frustration and stood up from her couch, now starting her own pacing. It did not help.

“Well what am I supposed to do? Wish for a shiny new car or world peace? This is insane!” Belle ran her fingers through her hair, suddenly feeling the pressure of this not-so-make-believe realisation. She was a master of a genie, the genie would grant her wishes. Any wish she could conjure.

“Well that is entirely on you, Master, I only grant the wishes, you decide them.”

“I didn’t ask for this! I was just opening a book!” Belle screamed out, and saw a tiny glimpse of something in the Genie’s face, almost sympathy.

“No one ever does…but it doesn’t change the fact that you did open my book, and that I am real. I am very real, and so are my wishes,” the Genie then reached into his pocket and extracted a small box. He handed Belle the box, heir hands briefly touching as he placed it in her hand. The box was as golden and intricate as the book, roughly the size of a matchbox. She cracked open the lid, and inside was a small collection of glowing red jewels.

“What are these?” Belle asked, touching one of the glowing jewels, which emanated its light softly.

“These are your wishes, each time I grant one, a jewel will vanish,” he said simply, before sauntering over to the couch and sitting down. He absent-mindedly flicked through a magazine on the coffee table, before leaning over and smelling the white-roses at the centre. Belle’s eyes led her back to the box of wishes, and counted each gem.

“Five?”

“Were you expecting three?” The Genie replied, and Belle looked up in surprise, not realising she had counted out loud.

“Well, no. I mean-“

“Three seems entirely arbitrary, what could you possibly do with only three wishes?” he almost sang in a giddy voice, before playing with a mirror in his hand.

Belle closed the box and put it safely in her jacket pocket, trying to steady her breathing.

“This is so crazy…all of it….I mean, what do I even call you?” Belle lamented, the Genie smirked and stood up to stand in front of her. With the same proud grin on his face, and never losing eye-contact with Belle, he bowed.

“You can call me….Rumplestiltskin.”


End file.
